MAD MEAT GENIUS

Barbeque

Monday, August 31, 2009

The Habanero's are burning with color. They have turned a fiery orange. They are begging to be extinguished down some body's throat. Chilebrown will step to the hot plate. I am no stranger to hot chile. One little nibble should be enough to sample the all mighty wrath of the Habanero. Great scorching balls of fevorous fire, is this pepper HOT!!!!!!!. This bite has taken my breath away. I have just received another lesson in humility and respect for Habanero's. Once the swelling went down on my kisser, the fruit taste shined through. I have three bushes of Habanero peppers that are starting to turn color. One recipe, that is a winner, is Jerk Chicken. Allspice, cinnamon, limes and Habanero's are combined with several other ingredients to marinate chicken. The chicken is grilled. The grilling tames the fiery wrath of the pepper. What remains is a wonderful spicy, fruit and herb style of chicken.

Jerk Chicken

4 habanero peppers chopped. WARNING:(Be careful not to touch peppers)

1 bunch green onions chopped

4 teaspoons allspice berries whole

4 cloves

1/2 cup lime juice

2 teaspoons nutmeg and cinnamon

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons oil

3 cloves garlic chopped

Place your allspice berries and cloves on cutting board. Smash and pulverize with a rolling pin. (or use spice grinder). Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until thick paste is formed.

I used chicken thighs. You can use the white meat, but it tends to dry out.. Place in zip lock bag with marinade. Let sit in refrigerator for at least four hours.

Build a medium fire in your Weber. Close the vent to the halfway position. Cook over direct coals using the lid to contol any flare-ups. Cook chicken thighs until the juices run clear or reads 180 on instant read thermometer.

Serve over rice. This chicken tastes great the next day on a salad. Do not be scared of the Habanero.The cooking mellows the heat and brings out the flavor. Treat it with respect and you will be rewarded.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Friday, August 28, 2009

The Mad Meat Genius camp is 30 minutes away from the big 'City'. This journey is, as the crow flies not by the freeway bound mass of vehicles of transportation. San Francisco is a playground for bacon and food enthusiasts. Ms. Goofy wanted to go on a field trip. She filled out her permission slip and away we crawled. The thirty minute trip seemed to take forever. This may of been because of the anticipation of having Bacon donuts and a Bacon Latte. We were on a Mission to visit Dynamo Donuts and Coffee and Pirate Cat Radio Cafe. These two establishments have bacon worth a journey on our clogged freeway arteries. Never mind our clogged veins.

Our first stop was 'Dynamo Donuts'. This doughnut and coffee oasis was located in the heart of the Mission District. This traditionally has been a Mexican food and shopping district. Fast forward to today and we have coffee and bacon doughnuts and a multi ethnic area. Finding a parking spot in S.F. is always a challenge. Our luck plopped us right in front. Right in front of a 5 person deep line to get sweet fried delights and java fueled beverages. We took a gander inside and saw a female crew of deep fried sweet bread creators. Dynamo has seating inside. It seemed everybody purchased their treats to go. So did we. We left with a bacon apple doughnut. We were on a mission. On to Pirate Cat Cafe.

Pirate Cat Radio Cafe was only 6 blocks away. We should of walked, but the doughnut had a gravitational pull towards our vehicle. Pirate Cat Radio Cafe is actually a small radio station. When you walk in you will see a glass partition with the actual Disc Jockey on the air. This is a tiny place with a small barista station. Our server was very pleasant and friendly. We ordered a Bacon Maple Latte. This concoction had two shots of expresso, foamed milk, maple syrup and it was topped off with baco-bits. Our Barista shared the secret of this Java Miracle. It was bacon magic in a cup. This was some secret rendering of the cured swine. A heaping teaspoon was added to our cup. Should I just faint now in Joy? I waited while she skillfully constructed our coffee drink. It was now the taste test.

The bacon doughnut was a fried sugar dough delight. The bacon on top was just an added treat. How can a doughnut go wrong. The Bacon Maple Latte was sublime. That means, I could not really taste any bacon flavor. It was sweet with the maple syrup and milk. The last sip, created a little gag. The last sip was full of foam and baco-bits. This field trip was a blast. Pirate Cat Radio is a fun and unique place to visit. Dynamo Donuts is a place

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Don't you love leftovers? We have left over New Hatch Chile, Bacon/Burgers and tomato's. What should we do with this plethora of bounty. How about pizza? This would be a great excuse to fire up the Beehive oven. It is sometimes risky to fire up the Beehive, because of our local Bay Area Air Quality Management Bureaucracy.They may declare a "Spare the Air Day". According to their declaration,if you burn in your fireplace,run your lawnmower or even use your barbeque you are a gross polluter and should be fined into submission. Never mind the Highway, Refineries, and our local Burger Queen. Wow, I am sorry for that mini rant, that was uncalled for.

Pizza with home made dough, sauce with home grown globes of red devilishness, fancy smanchy cheese, mesquite roasted chile, and a very important ingredient, bacon/burger meat. All these and a few other ingredients are combined and fired up in our gross polluter and transformed into pizza to die for.

Oh go ahead and drag me off to jail. At least I had some killer leftovers!

We got the notion to grind our own hamburger. A Chilebrown twist will be thrown in for kicks. London Broil was on sale at our local grocer. London Broil is a fancy term for top round roast. This cut of meat has virtually no fat at all. Burgers need some fat to add flavor. How can we add some fat. Of course, bacon is the magic meat to solve all your culinary challenges. Bacon and London Broil will be ground and mixed together to form a magical meat pattie.Today the bacon we are using is from Prime Smoked Meats of Oakland, California.

This is the time to break out your Kitchen Aid. The grinding attachment has been a fun little tool. It can turn a boring top round and some cured belly into a Mad Meat mixture. It took all of 4 minutes to plough through 3 pounds of bacon and 5 pounds of London Broil. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate. This was a very simple operation.

These burgers will be served on some home made hamburger buns. The house always smells great when you have some kneaded dough baking in the oven. A beautiful brandywine tomato was sliced. Some home made mustard was offered to slather on our burger creation. This is one fancy burger.

How did it taste. It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The texture was spot on. The bacon was a very pronounced taste. The beef mellowed everything to create a perfect Mad Meat Genius burger. It also helped that we had a great back up team of buns,mustard and tomato. Simple but extraordinaire!!!!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Oh boy do we have a treat today. Our local 'Super Duper' market has 'New Mexico Hatch Chile' on sale. It is not the fact that they are on sale. It is that they have these green goblins in stock. Once a year we are treated to the real deal. Do not get me wrong.In California we have Anaheim chili's,(to close to Wally World) and we have great peppers grown in Stockton California. New Hatch Chili is the way green peppers are supposed to look and taste.They are grown in New Mexico. They just have that terroir. I promise that I will never use that word again. They are hot, flavorful and big. WE went to the Super Duper market and bought 10 pounds. This should last us a week. Their are so many dishes and possibility's with these gems. The peppers will be grilled on a mesquite fire to blister the skins. They will be peeled and reserved for future use.

Build a very hot mesquite fire. Clean and oil your grill so the peppers will not stick. Blister all sides of the pepper with the ring of fire. If a pepper pops, it is done. You are not trying to cook the pepper, you are only blistering the skins. If a pepper poofs up it is done.Place in a big bowl and cover. Let the peppers cool for awhile. The skins should just fall off with a gentle scraping.

Salsa was on the agenda today. This salsa has home grown tomatoes, lime and the New Hatch Peppers. A little kiss of salt and we have some killer eats. This salsa was medium hot with a green (verde), wonderful flavor. These peppers are a treat. When the New Hatch Mexican Chili's Bus comes around, be sure to jump on it for a flavorful ride.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

We are returning to Marin California farmer's market to visit the hot sauce and pepper booth of Peppahead.Today we are going to sample a sauce called Johannesburg Red. What makes this sauce special, is that it is made of African Bird peppers. These peppers were originally grown in the wild. Birds would eat the peppers and would fly away and spread the seeds by aerial excrement disposal. These peppers have been domesticated and now are grown locally in San Rafael by Peppahead. Peppahead has a variety of spices, sauces and chili calenders that he sells at the Marin farmers market and online. Let's give it a try.

At first whiff you smell vinegar. This is one of the few ingredients listed on the label. (shallots, garlic, onion, water, vinegar, salt & pepper and bird peppers). The sauce is very smooth and not very thick. The taste is very complex. I am getting a little smoke flavor with a hint of bourbon,cherry's and cinnamon. It is a whirlwind of taste. It is very unique. The heat hits the back of your throat and travels to the tip of your tongue. The heat level is medium hot. It is not a beginners sauce but will disappoint the extreme heat seeking fiends. It is a tolerable level that will be the perfect accompaniment to some quesadillas.

These quesadillas rocked. The sauce made this dish a cornucopia of flavor. It was fun to try this bird pepper concoction. It has a unique pepper taste that will make you crave more. If you want to give it a try, Peppahead ia at the Marin Farmers market on Sundays. He also sells it online at http://www.peppahead.com/

Sunday, August 16, 2009

It is 8:42am in the morning. We are dressed in our battle gear of Judging shirts and name tags. There is a short cut that brings us right through the ranks of the barbeque competitors. It is hours before the first turn in. All eyes are glued on Ms. Goofy and I as we march down the promenade. The first team says ‘hello’. They say hello while staring right through our brains. The next team lines up and salutes us with a gratuitous gracious hello. We nod and wave hello back. On and on it goes. Are we the enemy? We are only KCBS judges here to taste some killer barbeque. “Boy, O, Boy”, did we taste some killer Q. In the last 24 hours we have judged, 3 contests and have tasted over 13 categories of turned in meat. I am going to have a meat baby! This was one great experience of meat critique and consumption.

This was the West Coast BBQ Championships. Teams were competing for cash prizes and for qualification to national events. The judging took place in a shaded patio area. The weather was very pleasant. The thermometer rose to the high 80’s with a refreshing slight breeze. The KCBS runs a well oiled machine for judging barbeque events. We received our instructions and took an oath to uphold barbeque integrity. We felt proud reciting this pledge. We had a responsibility to give our honest opinions, to all the competitors that acknowledged us, on our journey to the Judging area.

We tasted Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork, and Beef Brisket numerous times. We did not come across one bad piece of meat. These opponents dazzled us with perfectly cooked meat. Of course, their was some meat that did not ring the bell. It was our job to Judge. The most fun category was the ‘Mystery Meat’. This “Mystery Meat was flap steak. This is meat that is usually used for carne asada. The rules are a little different for this turn in. The usual garnishes are tossed aside and the most creative presentations are witnessed. Our table was presented with Lobster Tails wrapped in flap steak. Another table had flap steak roulades wrapped in bacon. “Oh my!”

Ms. Goofy at Barbeque Certification Class

Words have left me at this moment. One reason is because, I am on the couch, with my baby. More pictures of some serious rigs and great competitors can be seen by clicking, CLICK HERE! I will get back to you soon with a review of a local hot sauce. Bye Yall.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

This weekend Fairfield California will hold their annual Tomato Festival. This is a great local event that will also host the West Coast BBQ Championship. This is a fun in the sun event. The newly certified barbeque judges, Chilebrown, Ms. Goofy and Dr. Biggles will be attending. We will be wearing our fancy brand spanking new barbeque judge shirts and name tags.

This is an event for the whole family. Their will be a huge tent with numerous different variety's of tomato's to taste. A tomato eating contest will be waged. "Attack of the Killer Tomato's will be shown. Hundreds of vendors selling crafts and food are ready for you. Live music will entertain the crowd. One of the best things about this gathering, the admission is FREE! See you there.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

While glancing through one of my 'Food Porn' magazines, a loin & belly roast was found. A pork belly was tied to a bone- in loin roast. It was roasted in a hot oven. This was the lightbulb above my head. Of course, my roast would have to be done in the barbeque. This sounded like pure poetry. It was off to the International market for a pork belly. They did not have a bone-in loin roast, so another meat stop would have to be made. The local Wally Mart had the whole loin roast. The butcher was more than happy to cut a 5 pound prime roast for me.

Once home, the meat was rinsed and trimmed to fit each other like they were intended. A liberal dose of salt and pepper was the only seasoning this beauty would need. I tied the two hunks of meat with some cotton string. The rind was sliced at 1 inch intervals and then my baby was placed in the ice cave. Several hours later it was time to fire up the Weber.

The roast would be cooked on a high indirect heat. A drip pan was placed between the two stacks of coals. A little peach wood was the smoking wood used tonight. I wanted to cook this roast above 400 degrees for over an hour. My goal was to get the internal temperature to 150 degrees. An hour and 25 minutes went by very quickly. The temperature was at 150 degrees. Time to take it out and let it rest.

Their was a camera malfunction. No shots of the slice pork today. I will do my best to describe our porkapalooza dinner. The rind on the roast was beautiful. It was a glossy amber sight to see. It tasted like the best cracklin's I have ever had. The actual belly was a glob of meat and pork fat.The fat was oozing everywhere. It was very very rich. It was a little too rich for my taste. It did not have the bacon flavor that we all know and love. The actual loin was a little pink by the bone. It tasted just like "butta". It was so moist and tender. This meat cradled by a pork belly was pure heaven. This was a fun experiment. It is hard to go wrong with pork, fire and smoke. Just make sure you have a back up camera for the money shot.

We had tickets for an Oakland Athletics game last Monday. We needed something to bring to our tailgate. Why not make some home made sausage. Pork Shoulder just so happened to be on sale at the local Wally-Mart. The pantry was checked for ingredients. Some home smoked chipotle and garlic seemed to on the right track. A quick trip to the backyard found some fresh herbs. The casings were being held in the ice cave. All we need to do is fire up the Kitchen-Aide.

Pork shoulder has just the right combination of fat to meat, for sausage making. The kitchen-aide has an attachment for grinding the sausage. It makes quick work grinding up an 8 pound roast. A whole bulb of garlic was also ground up with the meat. A cup of chipotle peppers, minus the stems and seeds, were chopped fine. The seeds and chopped peppers were added to the meat. A healthy dose of salt was then added. A combination of fresh parsley, rosemary, and oregano were chopped and added to this mixture. Everything was mixed and then stuck in the ice cave overnight to have the flavors meld together. The next day the sausage was stuffed into their meat holding cocoons.

The tailgate was a success. These meat tubes had a healthy flavoring of garlic. The chipotle was not a heavy hitter this batch. They were served with some home made mustard and some fresh tortillas that were transformed into quesadillas.

Mad Meat Genius

HELLO MEAT FANATICS

Chilebrown is my name. Ms. Goofy is my Beautiful Wife. Lucy is our Golden Retriever Lap Dog. I grow a lot of vegetables and peppers. On the weekends Ms. Goofy and I frequent Farmers Markets. On our vacations. we go on "Meat Adventures". My hobbies revolve around food.I would like to share some of my recipes and cooking with you. There will be a lot of posts on barbequing. Ms. Goofy and I are certified 'Kansas City Barbecue Society Master Judges. We would like to share our experiences. I will guide you through my garden. I hope to have a lot of fun with you readers. There will be no politics, religion, and or rants. Well maybe a couple of little rants.Hope to see you soon.